Lions believe Stafford will make big leap in Year 2 with Caldwell

by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com

(2/21/15) Lions general manager Martin Mayhew believes that quarterback Matthew Staffordwill make a big leap in his second year under the same offensive system designed by coach Jim Caldwell, per MLive.com.

"I can't quantify how much better (the offense is) going to get, but I do think the second year in the offense is going to be great, going to be big for the quarterback," Mayhew said. "Some of the routes and the way that we run them were totally different for Matthew. He hadn't thrown those routes in college or when Scott Linehan was our offensive coordinator, so some of that was a learning process for him. He had a bunch of new receivers out there, guys he hadn't really worked with that much. I think second year in the offense is going to be huge for him, individually."

Stafford threw for 4,257 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2014. It was his fourth consecutive season over 4,000 passing yards and fourth straight with at least 20 passing touchdowns.

Matthew Stafford burns you for the last time

by Scott White | Senior Fantasy Writer

(12/21/14) When Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford disappointed with just 153 passing yards and one touchdown Week 15 against Minnesota, I was willing to make excuses for him. "The Vikings pass defense really isn't so bad," I said while penciling in Stafford for another 390 yards and two touchdowns Week 16 at Chicago. That's what he did against the Bears in Week 13, after all, and they entered Week 16 ranked 31st against the pass.

So of course, Stafford throws for 243 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

The performance could have been so, so, so much better. He threw one of those interceptions in the end zone and another just short of the end zone. But the fact is he completed those passes to Bears and not Lions, and so it was an awful performance despite a favorable matchup.

Stafford has been one of the most up-and-down quarterbacks in Fantasy this season, but the one thing he appeared to have going for him was that he played to the matchups. Remove predictability from the equation, and he's as frustratingly inconsistent as Cam Newton.

How can you trust him Week 17 at Green Bay? He threw two interceptions with no touchdown passes in his previous meeting with the Packers this year, so if you have a Mark Sanchez or even Newton type on the waiver wire, you might want to go that route instead.

Lions QB Stafford merely mediocre in defeat of Bears

by Marty Gitlin | CBSSports.com

(12/21/14) Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was held without a touchdown pass for the fourth time this season Sunday at Chicago, but the result was still another victory for his playoff-bound team.

Stafford finished 22 of 39 for 243 yards and his first two-interception performance since Oct. 19. The first pick was off a disastrous decision in the red zone and the second killed a promising opportunity as well.

He will try to play better in the regular season finale next Sunday at Green Bay.

Lions passing game goes missing again

by Scott White | Senior Fantasy Writer

(12/15/14) Though the Vikings hadn't been so great against the pass recently, allowing an average of 246.8 passing yards to the last four quarterbacks they faced, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford made sure their No. 6 ranking against the pass this year held up Week 15 in Detroit, failing to reach even the 185 yards he had against them back in Week 6. He finished with a season-low 153 yards on 17-of-28 passing, throwing for just one touchdown.

This after back-to-back games with 300-plus passing yards in which he threw for a combined five touchdowns. Not even the great Calvin Johnson, who was absent for the previous meeting with the Vikings, could redeem Stafford in this one. He had 53 yards after averaging 152.0 yards the previous two weeks.

Of course, the Lions faced the Bears and Buccaneers in those two weeks, or the league's 24th- and 30th-ranked pass defenses heading into Week 15. The Vikings are certainly better than them. Still, for as few yards as they had allowed through the air, the touchdown-to-interception ratio against them was nothing foreboding. It didn't seem like an unfavorable matchup.

But with Stafford, if the numbers say it's an unfavorable matchup, it's an unfavorable matchup. He's been the most predictable quarterback in Fantasy this season; we just keep making it harder than it needs to be. The good news is that in Week 16 he'll be facing those same Bears that he torched in Week 13, so you'll want to keep him active if you're still alive in Fantasy.

Lions' Matthew Stafford tosses one score Week 15

Stafford completed 17 of 28 passes for 153 yards and a score during the contest. For the most part, Stafford had no issues with the Minnesota pass rush. He did not take any sacks or turn the ball over during the game. The Vikings defense did give him some problems, particularly with the big-play. Stafford averaged just 5.5 yards per completion, with his longest catch going for 23 yards. He had one rushing attempt, picking up 2 yards.